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A roundup of the sports information of the week
BASEBALL—Unheralded WEST LIBERTY COLLEGE of West Virginia, which had never before played in the NAIA tournament, upset Grambling of Louisiana in successive games, 6-4 and 3-2, to win the championship, in St. Joseph, Mo.
BOXING—Welterweight Champion EMILE GRIFFITH of New York City retained his title by winning his second straight split decision over top-ranked challenger Luis Rodriguez in a rough 15-rounder in Las Vegas (see page 18).
GOLF—In the longest final round in the 69-year history of the British Amateur, GORDON CLARK of England birdied the 39th hole to upset defending champion Michael Lunt, in Ganton, England. It was the first major victory for Clark, 29, a businessman who plays golf about twice a week.
Despite his complaints about the heat, humidity, wind and his own nervousness, TONY LEMA shot 277 for 72 holes to place first in the $66,000 Buick Open in Grand Blanc, Mich., three strokes ahead of runner-up Dow Finsterwald. Lema, who had won the Thunderbird Classic a week earlier, became the first pro in nearly two years to take major tournaments back to back (the last was Jack Nicklaus, who had consecutive victories in the Seattle and Portland (Ore.) opens, in September 1962).
HARNESS RACING—Mrs. Leonard J. Buck's OVERTRICK, driven by John Patterson, finished first with five lengths to spare over Fly Fly Byrd in a $10,300 HTA pace, the fourth of the series for 4-year-olds, in Washington, Pa.
Don Miller drove CHEER HONEY ($21.50) to victory by three-quarters of a length over Mr. and Mrs. L. B. Sheppard's Elma in the $32,300 Hilltop Trot for 4-year-olds at Yonkers Raceway. Favored Speedy Scot, 1963's Harness Horse of the Year, who was making his first start of the season, broke stride and finished seventh in the nine-horse field.
HORSE RACING—Harry S. Nichols' MISS CAVANDISH ($8.70), Howard Grant aboard, won the first stakes race of her career by defeating Castle Forbes by three lengths in the $122,375 Coaching Club American Oaks, the third race of the Triple Crown for Fillies, at Aqueduct.
Christiana Stable's SMART ($8.20), ridden by Eldon Nelson, beat Sunrise County by a head to win the $55,200 Massachusetts Handicap at Suffolk Downs, while Saidam, the odds-on favorite, finished last in the field of six.
MOTOR SPORTS—Scotland's JIM CLARK drove his Lotus-Climax past Graham Hill, Dan Gurney and Bruce McLaren when their cars ran out of gas on the last lap, to win the Grand Prix of Belgium for the third straight time, at Francorchamps. The bizarre finish was most frustrating to McLaren, whose engine stopped 400 yards from the finish line. He tried to coast down a hill but was passed by Clark only 20 yards away from victory.
ROWING—Warming up for this week's IRA regatta, NAVY stroked 2,000 meters in a fast 6:01 to edge Wisconsin by less than one-quarter of a length on Lake Monona near Madison, Wis.
SWIMMING—France's CHRISTINE CARON unofficially bettered by .3 seconds the world 100-meter backstroke record held by Donna de Varona of the U.S. when she covered the distance in 1:08.6 at a Paris meet.
TENNIS—The UNITED STATES won all the singles matches and overpowered Britain 5-2 for its fourth consecutive Wightman Cup title (its 30th in 36 years), at Wimbledon. Nancy Richey of Dallas and Billie Jean Moffitt of Long Beach, Calif. each defeated Britain's Deidre Catt and Ann Haydon Jones, and Carole Caldwell of Santa Monica, Calif. outlasted British Team Captain Elizabeth Starkie 6-4, 1-6, 6-3. The host team, however, won both doubles matches.
Princeton extended its impressive winning streak to 46 matches as it swept through a 12-0 season to win the Eastern Intercollegiate championship for the fourth year in a row. The streak dates back to the Tigers' next-to-last match in 1960.
TRACK & FIELD—Miler TOM O'HARA (see page 26) dropped down to the half-mile in Chicago's Stagg Relays and ran a fast 1:51.1 to beat runner-up Dave Farley of Brown by five yards.
Fred Hansen of Cuero, Texas, who a week earlier had pole-vaulted 17 feet 1 inch to break John Pennel's world record, set a new mark of 17 feet 2 inches at the San Diego Invitational meet. Pennel himself soared 16 feet 8½ inches (he had to withdraw a little later when a bad fall injured his back) while Mel Hein of the Southern California Striders and Don Meyers of Boulder, Colo. both vaulted 16-5. It was the first time four men cleared that height in a single meet.
At a Moscow meet, Russia's VALERI BRUMEL leaped 7 feet 3¾ inches, just 1¾ inches short of his own world record, for the best high jump of 1964.
Britain's BASIL HEATLEY, 30, chugged to victory in the Windsor-to-Chiswick marathon outside London in 2:13:55, clipping 33 seconds off the unofficial world record for the distance, set in the same race last year by the U.S.'s Buddy Edelen. Runner-up Ron Hill of Britain also bettered the record when he finished in 2:14:12.
The outstanding athlete at the USTFF meet in Corvallis, Ore. was 17-year-old GERRY LINDGREN of Spokane, who beat John Macy, 34, of Houston by more than 200 yards to win the 10,000 meters in 29:37.6. Lindgren's time was just 9.2 seconds off the national collegiate record. Exceptional times at the NCAA college-division championships in Fresno, Calif. were also posted by BOB HAYES, who sprinted the 220-yard dash around a curve in 20.5, and Fresno State's DAREL NEWMAN, who won the 100-yard dash in 9.3.
MILEPOSTS—FIRED: ED LOPAT, 45, as manager of the last-place Kansas City Athletics, after the team had lost nine of its previous 11 games. The former Yankee pitching star, who led the Athletics to eighth place last season, was replaced by Mel McGaha, a K.C. coach and administrative assistant (he managed Cleveland in 1962). Said Lopat, "I think I'll go home to Hillsdale [N.J.] and enjoy myself the rest of the summer."
TRADED: In a complicated three-team deal the Los Angeles Angels obtained Minnesota Infielder Vic Power and Outfielder Lenny Green, the Twins gained Infielder Jerry Kindall of Cleveland and Frank Kostro of the Angels' Hawaii PCL farm club, and the Indians got Infielder Billy Moran of the Angels. In simpler trades, Baltimore obtained Catcher Charley Lau from Kansas City for Pitcher Wes Stock, while St. Louis received Outfielder Lou Brock plus Pitchers Jack Spring and Paul Toth from the Chicago Cubs for Pitchers Ernie Broglio and Bobby Shantz plus Outfielder Doug Clemens.
DRAFTED: Detroit Goalie TERRY SAWCHUK, 34, and Montreal's Dickie Moore (benched last season with an injured knee), 33, for $20,000 apiece by Stanley Cup Champion Toronto. The Red Wings had left Sawchuk unprotected in the draft because, "We had to gamble and, frankly, we didn't think anybody would take him," said disconsolate Gordie Howe of Detroit.
TRADED: Six Chicago Black Hawks, to Boston and Detroit, in exchange for six other players, at the NHL annual meeting in Montreal. In a two-part swap with Boston, the second-place Hawks acquired Doug Mohns, 30, the Bruins' best defenseman, for Forwards Ab McDonald and Reg Fleming, both 28, and Forward Jerry Toppazzini, 32, plus a minor leaguer for Right Wing Murray Balfour, 27, and a farm club player. Then Chicago sent Left Wing Ron Murphy, 31, and Defenseman Aut Erickson, 26, to the Red Wings for Center Art Stratton and Defensemen John Miszuk and Ian Cushenan.
TRADED: In a five-for-three exchange, the biggest in NBA history, the Detroit Pistons' scoring leader BAILEY HOWELL and Teammates Don Ohl and Bob Ferry, to the Baltimore Bullets in return for 1963 Rookie of the Year Terry Dischinger, plus Rod Thorn and Don Kojis. The Bullets also received Detroit's No. 2 and No. 3 draft choices—Les Hunter of Loyola of Chicago and Wally Jones of Villanova. "We've now got the makings to be in the thick of things," said Dave Trager, the elated owner of the Bullets.
DIED: Three former first-team All-America football players—HENRY J. (Heinie) MILLER, 71 (end, University of Pennsylvania, 1919), in Longport, N.J.; JACK L. BLOTT, 61 (center, University of Michigan, 1923), in Ann Arbor, Mich.; and LYNN BOMAR, 63 (end, Vanderbilt University, 1923), in Nashville—all of heart attacks.
